Locking device for gates.



W. G. HENKLE.

LOCKING DEVICE FOR GATES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15. um.

1 QE3 8QQ Patented Jan. 15, 1918 In yen tor; WGZ'flen/YZ 3g LOCKING DEVICE non earns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. in, rare.

Application filed July 16, 1917. Serial No. 180,821.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, lVILLAnD GLENN HEN- KLE a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Garrison, Benton county, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful; Improvements in Looking Devices for Gates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in locking devices for gates, and the object of my improvement is tofurnish an easily operated, secure and inexpensive means for releasably securing a gate in closed position.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a gate and gate-posts having my improved locking-device mounted on one of the posts; F ig.2' is an enlarged elevation of the locking-device; Fig. 3 is a side view thereof; Fig. 4 is a top plan thereof, with both of the gravity retaining means in locked positions, and Fig. 5 is a like view, showing one of the gravity-retaining means released with the bifurcated locking-plate swung to an open position.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In Fig. 1, I have shown a gate of the adjustable flexible type, having tubular front and rear stiles l9 and 20, connected by top and bottom longitudinal tubular beams 21 and 22, the latter having forked couplings mounted on their ends and pivotally connected to the tops and bottoms of said stiles, respectively. A clip 24: is slidably mounted upon the lower part of the front stile, and connected by means of side rods 23 to the upper part of the rear stile, to hold the front stile in a vertically adjusted position. The front and rear stiles may be connected also by means of meshed wires 25 and 26. The rear stile is supported on hinges'27 mounted on a rear post 28, while my improved gate fastening means is mounted on the front post 29.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, the numerals 1 and 14 denote like base-plates bolted to the upper and lower parts of the front post 29 opposite the front stile 19 and spaced therefrom. Each base-plate has like vertically-spaced parallel flat plates 2 and 3, and 15 and 16, while like locking-plates 5 and 17, having diverging forks 6, are pivoted be locked about said stile,

tween them on pivot-bolts 8 and 18 respectively, and secured by nuts, 9. The outer parts of the upper and lower faces of said forks 6 may be narrowed in thickness to give clearance to the upper parts 12 of the gravity-retaining rods 10, when lookingplates are swung laterally, as shown in Fig. 5. Upon the tops of the upper plates 2 and 1 1 are like pairs of integral bosses 1, and these bosses also both plates 2 and 3 there under, are provided with orifices in vertical alinement to slidably and rotatably receive the dependingends 13 from the horizontal parts 12 of oifset parts 11 of the rods 10, the lower ends of said rods being both slidably and rotatably mounted in like bearing orifices in the lower lugs 15 and 16 of the lower base-plate 14. lThe forks 6 and 1? respectively, of said upper and lower lockingplates inclose the front stile 19 of the gate when in a closed position, as shown in Fig. 4. In this closed position, the squared end of the locking-plate 5 abuts upon the .depending parts 13 of the rods, that is, these depending parts 13 in passing through the said bearing orifices in both plates 2 and 3, contact and lock the squared end of said locking-plate to hold it fixed while the forks 6 are inclosing the front stile 19, to hold the gate fastened to the front post 29.

To open the gate, as will be seen by refer ring to said Fig. 5, it is merely necessary to manually lift one of the rods 10 by means of the oflset parts 11-12, which disengages the depending part 13 from the lower lug 3 and from the squared end of the locking as indicated by the dotted lines in said Fig. 2, so that the locking-plate may be swung to the same side, simultaneously swinging the gate, and releasing its stile 19 from the forks 6.

-When the gate is swun back to close it, the stile 19 engages the further one of the forks 6 of said locking plate, and swings it to its first position shown in Fig. 4: thus again inclosing the stile and releasing the part 13 of said rod which had previously been riding upon said latch, so that by the action of gravity, it will drop back into the orifice in the lower plate 3, the lower end of the rod also dropping into the orifice in the lower plate 16, whereby the upper and lower-locking plates 5 and 17 are securely by the reengagement of the rod-part 13 with their squared ends.

It will be seen that by this means, both plate 5.

the upper and lower ends of the stile 19 are simultaneously released or locked by one simple operation, and that there is no catch or projection upon the stile toengage passthe offset part 11 engages the bottom of the lower plate 3, thus preventing further upward movement so that the parts of the rod cannot be disengaged from its bearings.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A locking device for gates, including separated pairs of spaced orificed parallel plates, means for mounting said plates upon a gate post, a bifurcated locking-plate pivotally mounted between each pair of spaced plates and each adapted to receive the adjacent end stile of a gate, and gravity movable retaining means removably mounted, upon said pairs of spaced plates, and normally coacting with both said locking plates to hold both of them against pivotal movements, said means consisting of a pair of likerods having parts mounted slidably to rock in the orifices in said pairs of spaced plates engaging said locking-plates to hold them inllocked positions, each rod having 1 an ofls'etpart adapting it for manual actuation to lift it disengaging it fromecertain of "said spaced plates and from said locking-- plates to release thelatter.

2. A locking device for gates, including separated pairs of spaced orificcd parallel,

plates, means for mounting said plat-es upon a gate-post, a bifurcated docking-plate pivotally mounted between each pair of spaced plates and each adapted to receive the adjacent end stile of a gate, and gravity movable retaining means removably moi-nted upon said pairs of spaced plates, and normally coacting with both said lockingplates to hold them .againstpivotal move ments, said means consisting of apair of like rods each having its upper part bent horizontally, then Vertically, then returning horizontally and having a depending part mounted slidably to rock in the orifices in the upper spaced plates to engage the locking-plate pivoted thereon, the lower horizontally bent part of the rod adapted to engage the bottom of the lower one of said spaced plates to prevent the escape of the said depending part from the upper one of the spaced plates when lifted to release said locking-plate.

Signed at lVaterloo, Iowa, this 28th dav of June, 1917 WILLARD GLENN HENKLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

